A judge has ordered the Marin Humane Society to return four allegedly neglected horses it seized from a rural breeding farm, citing serious flaws and financial conflicts in the investigation.

Judge Roy Chernus issued the tentative ruling Tuesday in the case of Gray Fox Farms LLC, which sued to get the horses back. The ruling will be adopted unless the judge changes his mind during a final round of arguments Wednesday.

The owners of Gray Fox Farms, Jill and Alex Burnell, are "very pleased" by the ruling, said Maggie Weems, a lawyer for the couple. She said the couple's "reputation and business has been decimated" by the Marin Humane Society's actions.

"We hope that the Humane Society is as quick to acknowledge the Burnells' exoneration by a truly independent judicial officer as they were to damn them by broadcasting the rubber stamp of their own bought and paid for hearing officer," Weems said.

The Marin Humane Society, which has a county contract for animal welfare services, started investigating the ranch in December. It said about two dozen horses were being subjected to "serious neglect, injuries, unsafe and inhumane living conditions" at the ranch, which is near Chileno Valley.

Investigators seized three allegedly malnourished mares and an injured stallion and started monitoring the remaining horses.

The Burnells denied the allegations and filed administrative appeals to get the confiscated horses back. The matter was referred to an "administrative hearing officer," an adjudicator who handles animal custody disputes.

The adjudicator, retired lawyer Al Burnham, ruled in the Marin Humane Society's favor. The Burnells then took the animal welfare organization to court.

In his tentative ruling Tuesday, Judge Chernus said some horses might have needed medical attention but that there was no emergency that required their immediate seizure. He faulted the case investigator, Michelle Rogers, for relying on double hearsay or unverified information in her decisions, and for failing to give the Burnells enough of a chance to secure veterinary care.

Chernus also said the Burnells were denied due process because of a financial conflict of interest on the part of Burnham, the $125-an-hour adjudicator hired by the Marin Humane Society.

The judge said the Marin Humane Society, rather than selecting adjudicators from a random rotation, has hired Burnham to hear 20 animal seizure cases over the past five years. He upheld the seizures every time.

"Where, as here, the adjudicator's pay is not formally dependent on the outcome of the litigation, but his future income as an adjudicator is entirely dependent on the goodwill of a prosecuting agency that is free to select its adjudicators it must, therefore, be presumed that MHS favors its own rational self-interest by preferring an adjudicator who tends to issue favorable rulings," the judge said.

He ordered the Marin Humane Society to return the four horses — Romantic Star, Pookie, Blackie and Nutsie — and cover the costs of seizing and caring for the horses.

John Reese, chief operating officer for the Marin Humane Society, said he is "very disappointed" in the ruling.

"We are carefully reviewing the opinion and are considering our next steps," he said.

Meanwhile, the Burnells are facing criminal charges stemming from the investigation. They pleaded not guilty last week to five felony counts of animal cruelty and numerous other charges involving Romantic Star, Pookie, Blackie, Nutsie and four other horses.